Chicago Spring Break

The girls could not wait to head up to Chicago with Ryan for spring break this year!  They knew they would get to see Grandpops and Grandma Jan and have all sorts of adventures!

 They started off at The Shedd; they love this aquarium.

 Not surprising, they choose to spend their souvenir money here.

 Yummmm, everyone loves a Giordano deep dish!

 Stan's Donuts for breakfast is a great treat too.

 Probably the biggest treat was going to see Blue Man Group.  Adults and kids alike loved this show.

 The girls had fun on the new musical see saws outside Navy Pier.

 This was their first time to visit the Museum of Science and Industry; it was a hit.

 The Lego creations were pretty cool!

 Relaxing at home, reading next to Grandma Jan, and playing with Taz.  That's a great day in Lily's book.

 A couple of the spectacular views from their home.

 I'll admit that I'm jealous when they have so much fun without me, but at the same time, I'm so thankful they made these memories!

Springtime Fun

We always have such a blast with our friends, the Smiths, and we have absolutely loved getting to know their neighbors as well.  This is such a sweet family, and they are going to be missed as a job change is making them leave Atlanta.

 Eliza is such a sweetheart.

 Happy 1st birthday to our nephew Liam!  Ryan and the girls went over to celebrate this milestone.  Unfortunately, it was a Saturday near the end of March so I had to stay behind and work.

 Liz was excited to have all her grandkids around!

 This was a precious treat to find when I came home late one evening.  Sweet girl.

 We were so proud that Mia made it into the school-wide poetry bee, and Lily made her this encouraging sign on our whiteboard.  She recited "The Crocodile's Toothache" by Shel Silverstein.  Even though she didn't win, she did a great job and represented 2nd grade well!

 Lily loves having Decker around.

 Ryan was beyond excited to get tickets to the first regular season Braves game at the new SunTrust Park.  He and Brian got great tickets, went down early to explore the park and the Battery, and to take it all in.

 Lily and her friends, Elizabeth and Emory, participated in the school's Science Fair last week.  They showed different leaf skeletons, had kids color and trace the leaf skeletons, asked trivia questions, and handed out stickers.  They loved their matching shirts that Mrs. McKeeby made, and they had a lot of fun!

 Mia started playing Upward Softball this season, and she's loving it.  She's on the Lady Mets team.  In the last game, she was awarded the defensive team member star for outstanding work in the field.

 She's gotten a few hits too and some RBIs.  She's a natural little athlete, so it's fun to watch her play.

 After one game, it was a lovely evening, so the girls and Decker had fun playing in our yard sprinklers.  Fun times!

 On the first Sunday of Spring Break, I took the girls down to the Marriott Marquis for some girl time.  We had a blast!  We swam for a couple of hours, ordered room service, and watched a movie.  I may have them let them jump between the beds in order to perform an acrobat show, and then they runway walk down the hallway to get the energy out before bed.  I love spending time with these precious girls who are growing up way faster than I want them to!

This Spring has treated us well!

March Fun

March always feels like such a busy month, but I think that's mainly because of my work schedule.  Tax time is always hectic.  Here's a few things going on though.

We love the Move Conference that JFBC hosts each year.  It's such a great time as missionaries come from around the world to tell us about the work they see God doing.  We love seeing friends come home from the Middle East and East Asia, and it's fascinating to meet new people and learn about the countries and people they serve.  For the second year in a row, we've been so blessed to host a missionary.  We love doing this!  This year we hosted Jason, who is serving with his family in Germany.  He's originally from the US though, which makes language a lot easier.  We loved getting to hear stories of the people his family has met and ministered to, and hearing about raising children overseas.  On Saturday (while I was working) there was downtime until some evening events, so Ryan and the girls treated Jason to a day at the World of Coke and lunch at the Varsity; what a great Atlanta tradition!

 Mia was so excited to have a Flat Stanley project this month.  She enjoyed the book about him, and she couldn't wait to mail him off to Grandpops and Grandma Jan, so Stanley could get a tour of Chicago.  They sent back some wonderful pictures, and Mia had a great time making up stories about his adventures.

 This was my favorite that she wrote.

 My birthday was last week, and we had a nice quiet celebration that evening.  Saturday morning was my real birthday treat though, as I took time away from work to enjoy Beauty and the Beast with the family.  This has always been my favorite Disney movie, and the live action didn't disappoint!

 Ryan and I were just itching to try something new this weekend, so after church we headed down to Ponce City Market to check it out.  We had heard good things about Jai which is a Szchuan style restaurant.  It was amazing and actually authentic; the smells and the tastes were very much like what I am accustomed to in China.  They even had my most favorite food to get in China...dry fried green beans!  We all dug in to Sweet and Sour Chicken, and Ryan, Lily, and I really enjoyed the Pork Belly and Potatoes; it was a little too spicy for Mia.  We all four loved this experience, and now everyone wants to visit China with me.  I can't wait for that day!  For a few years though, we may have to settle for returning to this restaurant!

Best News to Share

The best news in our house these days is Mia's decision.  She recognizes that she is a sinner who cannot earn the favor of God.  She understands she needs a savior to take her place and the judgement she deserves before God.  She has decided to trust in Jesus to be her Savior.  We are so excited and thankful for this decision.  We pray that she remember every day her need for Jesus, and that she grows closer to him and more like him each day.  Amazing grace has been shared once again!

February Fun

Some of the fun going on around our house over these last few weeks...

Kendall, John, Caroline and Merritt came to visit one weekend.  We love spending time with them!  The three "big girls" have a blast playing together, and I could just hold sweet little Merritt all day.  Look at those cheeks!  We went to the Aquarium on Saturday afternoon which was lots of fun.  The dolphin show was a big hit.  We're so thankful for this time with family!

 We were all so pumped for the Super Bowl this year!  The Smiths came over which is always fun.  We couldn't believe our Falcons were going to the big game.  Everything looked good until that 4th quarter, and we saw the Patriots win in overtime.  It was heartbreaking.  Honestly, we're still a little hurt.  Hey, we ended up with the 2nd best team in the NFL, and there's always next season, right?

 We decided to have a little fun with our Valentine's dinner this year.  I made some heart-shaped pastries with raspberries which were delicious.  The (attempted) heart-shaped bacon was fun as was the red-dyed scrambled eggs.  Pineapple, well, that's just always tasty.

 We had one of our favorite desserts afterwards!

 Each morning from February 1 through 14, the girls woke up to find a different heart on their mirrors.  This is such a fun way to pour a little encouragement and love into them.  Such a fun tradition.

 I love this girl.  She was sitting next to me doing her 39 Story Treehouse game book one evening, and I snapped a picture.  No reason other than I love her.

 Mia and Eliana had a fun time playing together at the school's babysitting fundraiser evening.  $10 for 4 hours of babysitting while the parents hit the Square.  We went to Two Birds Taphouse with the Mauszs and then met up with the Paynes for ice cream afterwards.  Fun evening all around! 

 I love this girl too.  We went to visit Meme one afternoon, and she put on a 30 minute concert for Meme and her roommate.  They both seemed to enjoy it a lot.  Lily is such a talented musician, and I love that she uses her talent to bring joy to others.

 Ryan made homemade maniesh one afternoon, and it was delicious!  This is one of his favorite Middle Eastern foods from his travels.  One of our overseas' friends sent him the recipe, he order zatar spices online, and he found the right cheese at the Jerusalem Bakery.  We're all asking him to make this again soon!

 I love that Lily still loves playing with Legos.  I snapped these two pictures because I love when she sets up whole imaginary cities.  This one is of the amusement park with all its rides, food stands and fun.

 This creation uses lots of the Elves sets, but she had different people playing games everywhere.  Some were playing Red Rover, some Hide and Seek, some Statues in the Park, etc.  I love when her creativity comes out!

 Last weekend we took the girls to see Ringling Brothers and Barnun and Bailey Circus.  They are on their farewell tour.  It's hard to believe this institution is closing after over a hundred years of performing.  We all had a fantastic time.  The tigers, poodles and camels were of course big hits, as were the incredible acrobats.  The snowcones were fun too!  At one point, before being told that the circus was closing, Mia looked up at me with big eyes and said "I'm never going to forget the circus!  I'm going to dream about this every night!"  She later decided she no longer wants to be an iFly instructor; now she wants to be a tiger tamer!

Lily was super excited to make the Cambridge House team for the Geography Bee (Grades 2-4).  She was even more excited when they won!  This was her 3rd year in a row to compete, though the last two years have been as an individual; this was the first team competition.  In 2nd grade, she placed 3rd.  In 3rd grade, she placed 2nd.  Now, in 4th grade, her team placed 1st!  They did a great job!

 Last night Ryan and I had a great date night going to dinner at Bistro Niko and then going to the Tony Bennett concert.  The man's a legend!  He's the last of his kind, so we were glad to have this opportunity.  It's hard to believe he's 90 years old!  It was a very fun show at Symphony Hall.